In the forest, Sai tilted his head slightly. "Captain Kakashi... is indeed strong."
Yugao nodded gently. "After all, he's Konoha's Copy Ninja, former Anbu Commander. Attacks of this level aren't even worth his serious attention."
But right then.
On the training ground, a sudden change occurred.
Amidst the sea of shadow clones, a single kunai shot out silently.
The angle was tricky, speed extremely fast, aimed directly at a spot three inches to the right of Kakashi's throat… the carotid artery. If hit, even if not fatal, one would instantly lose mobility.
The kunai itself wasn't special.
What was special was its tail, tied with an explosive tag!
Moreover, the tag's fuse was already lit, trailing a faint spark in the air!
'What?!'
Kakashi's pupil abruptly contracted.
The eye that had been fixed on the book finally moved away from the pages.
He didn't even have time to see where the kunai came from… his body's instincts had already reacted.
[Substitution Technique!]
Poof!
A wooden log appeared where Kakashi had been.
The real Kakashi had already appeared on the trunk of a large tree ten meters away.
Almost simultaneously.
Boom—!!!
The explosive tag detonated.
Flames and smoke instantly engulfed the wooden log, along with several Naruto's shadow clones nearby.
The explosion's shockwave spread outwards, flattening the grass on the field. Several small stones were blasted up, falling into the nearby river, creating ripples.
Several nearby shadow clones turned into white smoke and vanished.
The training ground fell briefly quiet.
Kakashi stood on the tree trunk, his Icha Icha Paradise already closed.
His gaze swept over the training ground. For the first time, his dead-fish eye showed a serious expression.
'This kind of tactic...' Kakashi murmured to himself, a trace of surprise and appreciation in his voice.
Using shadow clone human wave tactics for distraction and interference, letting the target lower their guard, while someone hidden in the shadows delivers precise long-range attacks.
This required not only extremely high coordination, as otherwise the kunai might hit Naruto's main body, but also extremely high Shurikenjutsu skill to accurately hit the target through the dense crowd of shadow clones, while also calculating the explosive tag's detonation timing.
More importantly... tactical thinking.
Knowing ordinary attacks were ineffective against a Jonin, so directly using 'unconventional' means like explosive tags, forcing him to take it seriously.
Kakashi's gaze landed on two figures at the periphery of the shadow clone crowd.
Menma and Hinata.
The two stood together. Veins bulged at the corners of Hinata's eyes, and around the pupils in her pure white eyes appeared fine blood vessel patterns.
'Byakugan.'
Kakashi's heart tightened.
He almost forgot… the Hyuga Clan's young lady possessed these eyes that could see through everything.
Before the Byakugan, ordinary concealment and Body Flicker Techniques would be greatly reduced in effectiveness.
'Troublesome,' Kakashi muttered to himself.
And almost the moment his words fell, Hinata's gaze had already locked onto him.
Those pure white eyes penetrated the tree trunk's obstruction, pierced through the gaps in the foliage, accurately locking onto Kakashi standing on the tree trunk.
Then, she moved.
Both hands drew two kunai from her ninja tool pouch, movements clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
The kunai tails were also tied with explosive tags.
Raise, throw.
Swish! Swish!
Two kunai tore through the air, trailing burning fuses, shooting straight at the tree trunk where Kakashi stood!
'Tsk.'
Kakashi's figure vanished again.
This time, he used the Body Flicker Technique.
He landed in a patch of grass at the edge of the training ground, body crouched low, minimizing exposure.
"The Byakugan... truly troublesome," Kakashi quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.
If the opponent had the Byakugan, ordinary stealth and ambush tactics would be greatly reduced in effectiveness.
And judging from the earlier coordination, these three's tacit understanding far exceeded expectations.
Although he still had his Sharingan, they were just three freshly graduated Genin.
Using his full strength would be somewhat bullying.
'It seems I must take Hinata out of commission first.'
Kakashi made a decision.
His gaze locked onto the distant Hinata.
The Hyuga girl standing next to Menma, vigilantly observing her surroundings.
In a one-on-one, with Kakashi's strength, instantly subduing Hinata wouldn't be difficult.
But the problem was, she wasn't alone now.
Under Hinata's direction, Naruto's shadow clones had already locked onto Kakashi's position again, howling as they charged over.
Dozens, hundreds, like a golden tide, instantly submerging the grass where Kakashi was hiding.
In the distance, Hinata and Menma stood together, each holding a kunai, vigilantly observing the situation.
Hinata's Byakugan remained active, her vision piercing through the crowd of shadow clones, seeing Kakashi surrounded.
"Success?" Hinata whispered, a hint of uncertain delight in her voice.
But the next second, her expression changed.
In the Byakugan's field of view, Kakashi's Chakra... disappeared?
'No, not disappeared.'
Underground!
Hinata abruptly looked down, but it was too late.
A black-gloved hand shot out from the soil beneath her feet, accurately grabbing her left ankle!
"Earth Release: Headhunter Technique!"
Kakashi's voice came from underground, carrying a trace of triumphant composure.
He intended to pull Hinata directly underground, leaving only her head exposed, temporarily incapacitating her.
But the moment he exerted force...
Kakashi felt the weight in his hand was off.
Not the weight and texture of a human body.
But...
'Wood?'
Poof!
The 'Hinata' being grabbed turned into a wooden dummy, and Kakashi was only holding the dummy's ankle.
The real Hinata had already appeared five meters away, pure white eyes vigilantly fixed on where Kakashi had just emerged.
'Substitution Technique!'
'And the timing was perfect… the moment my hand touched her, she completed the substitution!'
"Tsk."
Kakashi emerged from underground up to his waist, for the first time showing obvious surprise on his face.
And the moment he appeared...
Menma's figure appeared before Kakashi at an extremely fast speed, right fist clenched, striking straight for Kakashi's face!
A simple, unadorned punch.
But the speed, angle, and force were all flawlessly executed.
Kakashi's pupil contracted, raising his left hand to block.
Fist and palm collided with a dull impact sound.
Kakashi felt the power transmitted to his arm… steady, heavy.
This was nothing like the strength of a twelve-year-old Genin!
Menma's attack didn't stop. He controlled his strength between Chunin and Special Jonin-levels.
As one punch was blocked, his left leg swept like a whip towards Kakashi's waist.
Kakashi leaned back, barely dodging.
But Menma's assault was like a storm. Fist, elbow, knee, foot… every part of his body became a weapon, each attack precisely aimed at Kakashi's vital points.
Even more terrifying was that there was not the slightest gap between his movements. One move flowed into the next, seamless as clouds and water, as if he had trained Taijutsu into his very bones.
Kakashi was forced to respond seriously.
He no longer blocked with one hand but used both, feet moving rapidly, trying to create distance.
But Menma stuck to him closely.
Their figures moved swiftly across the training ground, the sounds of fists and feet colliding dense as rain.
The more they fought, the more astonished Kakashi became.
'This boy's Taijutsu was too solid.'
'Not the flashy, speed-pursuing kind of skill, but the most basic, practical, tempered-to-perfection killing techniques.'
'Every move was concise and effective, with no wasted motion, every exertion perfectly utilizing every joint and muscle in his body.'
'This level of Taijutsu mastery was nothing like a freshly graduated Genin!'
'It was more like a Taijutsu specialist Jonin tempered through countless life-and-death battles!'
Right then-
Menma launched a high kick towards Kakashi's chest, and Kakashi crossed his arms to block.
But Menma's attack was a feint.
The moment Kakashi blocked, Menma's left foot pushed off the ground, his body springing backward like a spring, while his right hand drew three shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, throwing them in a flick!
Swish swish swish!
Three shuriken formed a triangle, sealing off Kakashi's dodging space.
At the same time, Naruto's shadow clone human wave surged forward again, howling as they pounced on Kakashi.
Hinata in the distance wasn't idle either. She threw her kunai again… this time ordinary ones, but the angles were tricky, blocking Kakashi's retreat.
'Attack from three sides!'
Kakashi's gaze finally turned completely serious.
'The coordination between these three little ones... was too practiced.'
'It's nothing like first-time teammates, newly formed Genin.'
'It's more like veteran comrades who had fought side by side for years!'
[Body Flicker Technique]
Kakashi's figure vanished again.
This time, his target was clear… Hinata.
If the Byakugan was the biggest problem, then deal with the Byakugan first!
Hinata only felt a blur before her eyes.
In the Byakugan's field of view, Kakashi's Chakra appeared behind her as if teleporting.
'So fast!'
Startled, Hinata instinctively turned.
But the moment she turned, what she saw was Kakashi's mask-covered face and that calm but sharp eye.
Kakashi's hands formed hand seals.
That was the starting gesture for a Genjutsu.
"Sorry," Kakashi's voice was very soft.
He intended to use a simple Genjutsu to temporarily 'take out' Hinata, incapacitating her.
But right then, Hinata's left hand pulled out a large handful of something from her ninja tool pouch, then violently scattered it all around!
Explosive tags!
Dozens of explosive tags scattered around like heavenly flowers, covering an area with a radius of several dozen meters centered on Hinata!
Even more terrifying, these tags' fuses were already lit while in the air!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!
The sound of fuses burning was so dense it made one's scalp tingle.
Kakashi's expression finally changed.
'I fell for it!'
'This 'Hinata'... was bait!'
He immediately wanted to use Body Flicker to escape.
But it was too late.
The explosive tags' coverage was too wide, the quantity too many, and the fuses' burn rate was clearly accelerated!
Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom—!!!
Explosions erupted one after another, merging into a continuous roar.
Flames, smoke, shockwaves instantly engulfed the large area centered on 'Hinata'.
The training ground's surface was blasted into numerous craters, turf torn up, dirt splattering everywhere.
The blast waves even reached the distant river, stirring up waves on the water's surface.
In the forest, Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly, trying to see through the explosion's center.
Yugao was ready to intervene at any moment… the scene was simply too shocking.
A trace of confusion appeared on Sai's face.
The explosion's smoke and dust gradually dissipated.
On the training ground, a scene of devastation.
But at the explosion's center, there was no Kakashi.
Nor Hinata.
Only some wood splinters and cloth fragments.
And at the training ground's original starting position.
Menma, Naruto, and Hinata stood there, completely unharmed.
Naruto looked excited, Hinata's cheeks slightly flushed but eyes bright, Menma calmly watching the direction of the explosion.
From the forest, Kakashi's figure slowly walked out.
His clothes were somewhat disheveled, his silver hair dotted with grass bits and dirt, looking rather disheveled. Though not injured, the explosion had indeed forced him to use his full strength to evade.
His gaze fell on the unharmed Hinata, then on the wood splinters on the ground.
Shadow Clone.
From the beginning, that 'Hinata' was a Shadow Clone.
The real Hinata had been with Menma the whole time.
They knew the Byakugan's importance in battle.
They also knew Kakashi would prioritize neutralizing the Byakugan.
So, they devised a bait tactic centered around 'protecting Hinata'.
From the initial shadow clone human wave distraction, to the later kunai and explosive tag combo forcing Kakashi to get serious, to Menma's close-quarters Taijutsu entanglement, finally to the Hinata Shadow Clone bait explosion...
Every step was calculated.
Kakashi's gaze finally settled on Menma.
This boy who had always seemed overly calm was now calmly looking back at him, no trace of pride or arrogance on his face.
"Such tactics," Kakashi slowly spoke, a hint of surprise and appreciation in his voice.
"You devised them, didn't you?"
Not a question.
But a statement.
Menma slightly tilted his head, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile. "What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"
On the training ground, the wind blew.
The bells on Kakashi's belt emitted crisp ding-ling sounds.